How to Setup Event Reminder in Google Calendar

What Are Reminders?

Reminders in Google Calendar let you treat “to‑do” items similarly to events: you set a title, date/time (or all day), and optionally repeat them. The distinguishing characteristic of reminders is that if you do not mark them as done, they persist,  they carry over to your calendar until you complete them. In other words, unlike events which vanish after their time is passed, reminders stay present until addressed.

Reminders created in other Google services (such as Google Keep, Google Assistant) also surface in Calendar, and similarly sync across devices. Reminders are private to you and do not show up to guests or collaborators on shared calendars.

It’s useful to think of reminders as lightweight tasks tied to dates, integrated into your calendar view.

How to Enable Reminders Are Visible

Before creating reminders, make sure the “Reminders” calendar (or the equivalent “Tasks/Reminders” layer) is enabled in your calendar view.

In the left sidebar of Google Calendar (web or app), find the list of calendars / layers (e.g. “My calendars,” “Other calendars”). Ensure that “Reminders” (or “Tasks / Reminders”) is checked/selected. If it is not visible or unchecked, reminders will not show in your calendar grid even if you’ve created them elsewhere.

On the web, under “My Calendars,” you may see “Reminders” listed; ensure its visibility is turned on.  Once reminders are visible, you can proceed to create and manage them.

Creating a Reminder (Web / Desktop)

Here’s how to create a reminder using the Google Calendar web interface:

1. Open Google Calendar in your browser and make sure you are signed into your Google account.
2. Click on a time slot in the calendar grid where you want the reminder. A dialog or mini‑editor appears offering options such as “Event,” “Task / Reminder,” or “Appointment.” Choose Reminder.
3. Enter a title for your reminder (for example, “Call client,” “Pick up groceries”).
4. Set the date and time. You may opt to check “All day” if you want the reminder to apply for the whole day.
5. Optionally set repetition / recurrence (e.g. daily, weekly, custom) so the reminder recurs on a schedule.
6. Save the reminder. It appears in your calendar view at the designated time, and also in your reminders list.

Because reminders stick around until completed, if the time passes without you taking action, the reminder will reappear (e.g. at the top of your calendar on the next day) so it remains visible until you mark it done.  Reminders created on the web sync to mobile apps and vice versa.

Creating a Reminder (Mobile App)

Using the Google Calendar mobile app (Android or iOS), the process is similar, adapted to the mobile interface:

1. Open the Google Calendar app.
2. Tap the plus (+) button (usually floating) to create a new item.
3. From the options, select Reminder.
4. Enter the reminder title (what you want to be reminded of).
5. Choose date and time (or “All day” if applicable).
6. If needed, set recurrence / repeat pattern.
7. Save the reminder.

The mobile app ensures reminders sync to your web calendar and follow you across devices.  If you later want to edit or delete the reminder, tap the reminder in the calendar, choose “Edit” (pencil icon) or “Delete” (trash) or “Mark as done.”

Editing and Completing Reminders

Once a reminder exists, you have options to manage it:

• Edit: Open the reminder, click or tap “Edit,” change the title, date/time, or recurrence, and save.
• Delete: Remove the reminder entirely by deleting it.
• Mark as Done: When you fulfill the reminder (e.g. “Call client” completed), mark it as done. This removes it from upcoming view. If the reminder is recurring, it may reappear at its next instance.
• Snooze / Postpone: In some interfaces, you may defer reminders to a later time or reschedule them.
• Because reminders persist until done, if you don’t interact, they continue showing until you complete or delete them.

On the web, reminders you haven’t completed appear at the top of your calendar, giving you quick visibility of overdue items.

Setting Default Notifications

Reminders generally trigger push notifications or alerts depending on your device settings. To ensure you get alerted, you need to enable notifications for Google Calendar (or the Calendar / Reminders component) in your device settings (both for browser and OS, or mobile settings). If notifications are blocked for Calendar, reminders may not alert you.

On web, your browser must allow notifications from calendar.google.com (or Google’s calendar domain). You may need to allow site notifications in your browser’s settings so reminder pop-ups or notifications can appear.

On mobile, in your phone’s settings, confirm that the Calendar app has permission to send notifications, and that Do Not Disturb or similar modes do not suppress them.

Recurring Reminders & Custom Repeat Patterns

If your reminder is something you want to do repeatedly, you can use the repeat (recurrence) option when creating or editing the reminder. Common recurrence options include daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or you can define a custom pattern (for example, every Monday and Thursday, or the first of each month).

When a recurring reminder is created, each future instance will show up, and each one must be marked done individually (or you can edit the recurrence rule). You can also skip or delete individual occurrences as needed.

Be cautious: changing a recurrence rule can affect all future instances (depending on how Google handles it). Always check whether your edits apply to “this occurrence only” or “all future ones.”

Integration with Google Tasks / Transition from Reminders

In recent changes, Google has been transitioning certain reminder features into Google Tasks. This means some reminder functionality is now handled via Tasks, with reminders being a subsystem of Tasks rather than a separate entity. In some versions and accounts, standalone Reminders may migrate to Tasks, meaning that new reminders or editing may be managed under the Tasks interface.

Because of this, when you create a reminder in Calendar, it may show up under the Tasks / reminder system. The benefit is unified management of tasks/reminders across Google services.

What this transition means practically:

• Reminders you create may appear in Tasks lists as well.
• Some older “Reminder” functionality may be deprecated or replaced by Tasks.
• When editing reminders, you might see Tasks-style editing screens.
• Ability to mark tasks as completed and manage them in Tasks may replace some reminder behavior.

If your Google account has this integration, reminders and tasks behave in tandem.

Common Issues

It’s important to understand where reminders in Google Calendar can be limited or problematic:

• Reminders are private to you and do not show for guests or collaborators on shared events. If you invite someone to an event, their reminders are controlled by their own calendar settings, not yours.
• Some users report that reminders or tasks get converted or disappear after interface updates or migrations. There have been community reports of reminders disappearing after Google shifted reminders into Tasks.
• Reminder notifications may not always trigger if you lack proper permission settings (either browser, OS, or app notifications are disabled).
• On web, reminders may not appear if the “Reminders” calendar layer is unchecked or hidden in the sidebar.
• If multiple reminders for the same time exist, editing one may cause others to be suppressed or lose behavior (some users have reported bugs).
• Recurrence edits must be made carefully to avoid altering past instances unintentionally.
• Because Google is evolving its reminders → Tasks architecture, some features of legacy reminders may no longer be developed or may behave slightly differently.

Community users have reported occasional bugs: for example, when editing one of multiple reminders scheduled at the same time, sometimes other reminders disappear from notifications though they remain in the calendar data. Also, in some cases reminders created via Google Assistant do not always trigger notifications in the same way as reminders created directly in Calendar.  Be aware of these edge cases and test reminders you rely on.

Reminders in Google Calendar are a powerful way to integrate task‑style alerts alongside your calendar events. Because reminders persist until marked done, they provide a useful “to-do sticky” behavior. You can create reminders on web or mobile, set recurrence, edit and delete them, and manage them via both calendar and Tasks integration.

Key points:

• Reminders remain visible until completed
• They sync across devices and integrate with other Google services
• You need to enable the Reminders calendar/layer for visibility
• Permissions and notification settings must be enabled to receive alerts
• Recurrence and editing should be used carefully
• Google is shifting reminders into Tasks, so some functionality lives in the Tasks interface
• Be proactive with best practices: clear old reminders, test important ones, avoid clutter